World Baseball Classic: Pool A
For most Americans, pool A (remember, A is for Asia) is probably the least interesting of the four divisions. On the combined roster of the four teams, Japan, Taiwan (referred to as China Taipei), South Korea, and China, only a handful of major leaguers can be found, and the only well known player is Seattle Marriner's all-star Ichiro.
But, in terms of matched playing style, this division may be one of the most interesting. In Pools B and C the results should be similar to a superpower attacking a newly developed nation, but in Pool A 3 of the 4 teams are probably near the same level of play.
Japan, with it's two major leaguers (Akinori Otsuka of the Texas Rangers joins Ichiro) and long tradition of quality baseball is the heavy favorite. Other Japan players to look for are Nishioka, who was 41-for-41 in stolen base attempts with the Chiba Lotte Mariners last season and has been caught stealing just twice in 49 career attempts; Shunsuke Watanabe, who's went 15-4 with a 2.17 ERA last season; and Daisuke Matsuzaka, last season Pacific League strike out leader with 226 k's (14-13, 2.30 ERA).
All games in Pool A are being played at the Tokyo Dome, which should also give Japan a heavy advantage. Japan also has the important intangible of being managed by a Japanese legend, Sadaharu Oh, the all-time world homerun leader. Having Sadaharu, the historical face of Asian baseball, and Ichiro, the current face of Asian baseball, on the same field will be an important experience for diehard Japanese baseball fans.
The second Asian team favored to move on to the next round is probably South Korea. American's know South Korea as pitching powerhouse of a country, and with 12-year MLB vet Chan Ho Park, and Colorado Rockies starters Byung-Hyun Kim and Sun Woo (Sunny) Kim anchoring the rotation, South Korea probably has the best starting pitching in Pool A.
Psuedo-All-Star Heep Sop Choi will lead Korea's offense.
Taiwan's team has already had to overcome some serious adversity. Star pitcher Chien-ming Wang is skipping out on the classic to attend spring training with the Yankees. You may remember Chien as seasons Yankee's rotation utility man. He pitched in nearly every spot in the rotation covering for injured big money starters, and will likely be a mainstay in the Yankee's starting rotation this season. One of Taiwan's best hitters, Chen Chin-feng, has also declined to play. Taiwan would probably consider the tournament a success if they can beat South Korea and move on to the next round.
The last team in pool A is Mainland China. Although there are no Chinese players with Major Leaguer experience, team China has been preparing for the tournament in Arizona since late January. Former Major League All-Stars Jim Lefebvre and Bruce Hurst will be leading China as manager and pitching coach. China has never really competed against the quality of talent that will characterize the WBC, but this team could certainly be one of the sleepers of the tournament. From what I've read and heard from a Bruce Hurst interview, I expect China to play a style similar to what I saw from the University of Texas last season: small ball with aggressive baserunning always putting pressure on opposing defenses. Sun Lingfeng will spark this offense play with his slap hitting, high average bat and quick speed on the bases.
China lacks a real strikeout pitcher, but they play solid, fundamental defense. Don't look for mistakes in the field to beat them, but do look for over 10 runs in each game play.